The White Rose

Chapter 6 - Moths to flames, waves to shores and Leila to Christian.

“Stop!" I yelled

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you,” she snarled. Then a puzzled look appeared on her face. “Where do I know you from?”

We stayed silent for a few moments. Then, she gasped. She put the fire on her hand out and touched my face.

“You,” she whispered, her eyes twinkling in astonishment.

The same look of recognition must have shown on my face because she smiled softly.

“You,” I whispered back. She stood up and helped me to my feet too.

“How did this happen?”

“I wish I knew. I was on our world one minute, and then I woke up here.” I shrugged.

“When did you get here?” she wondered.

“About six months ago,” I replied. “You?”

“A couple of days ago.” She circled me, looking at me from head to toe, her wings brushing my skin. “You look the same as when I last saw you,” she smiled.

She stopped when she was standing right in front of me. She looked into my green eyes, my untidy black hair and finally she rested her eyes on my lips, biting her own softly.

“It’s curious. You’re not an angel, you’re not a spider, and you’re not human… Did you ever find out where you came from?” She brushed a bit of hair out of my face.

“No,” I sighed. “I just tell whoever asks that I’m an angel who was born without wings. Everyone else I know just calls me a freak. A few people have asked what else I was born without.” I chuckled, but she didn’t seem to hear me.

“Curious,” she whispered; more to herself than me.

After a moment of silence she asked “Do you remember what happened the day we met?”

“Yeah. I was walking by the stream just outside the city and I saw your face. I had heard about you and what had happened to your mother. I walked up to you and sat beside you. You had your feet in the water and you tried to hide your face when you saw me. I put my arm around you, a complete stranger, and you put your head on my shoulder. We sat there until the two suns set while you tried to fight back the urge to cry.”

“Right before you left I asked you for your name and you told me you’d only tell me if I gave you a kiss on the cheek.” She smiled and looked at the ground, blushing.

“Do you remember my name?” I was sure she wouldn’t, but she surprised me.

“Yes Christian, I remember it like you had only told me a moment ago.” I walked over to her and lifted her head with my hand. We both smiled at each other but there was something in the back of my mind that told me we hadn’t only met once. I couldn’t think when or where.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I admitted.

“I’m glad you’re here too.” She smiled, but that smile turned into a look of puzzlement. “Why are you in these woods?”

I took my hand off her chin and hung my head low. It took me a minute to get the words out. “Aria sent me... to... to kill you.”

She looked at me in disgust and backed away.

“It’s not like that Leila. Trust me. After I woke up here, all I wanted to do was go back home. I couldn’t, so I did the rational thing and I did what I could to survive.”

“You joined her! You killed innocent people Christian.” She started to walk away but I grabbed her arm. “Let me explain.”

She turned and said hissed the words “Explain then.”

“I never killed anyone. And when I saw you today, I knew that I wouldn’t let you become my first victim. I know what she’s doing’s wrong but I’m one person. I can’t stop her on my own.”

“Why wouldn’t you just kill me? Presumably she’s going to kill you if you go back.”

“Because I knew that I’d seen you somewhere before and because, as strange as it may sound, I feel like something’s been drawing me closer to these woods for days.”

“Wait. You’ve been hearing a noise inside your head? That’s what this was about?” She looked bemused.

“You’ve been hearing it too, haven’t you?”

“Yes... I think I know what this means. We’re all here to stop Aria.” She seemed to glow with happiness and sudden realisation.

“Who would’ve... Sorry, who could’ve orchestrated this? And what do you mean by all?”

“I think it may have been the moon spirits. The same ones that gave me immortality... And by all I mean me, you and Ivy. Another immortal angel that got here the same way I did.”

I nodded. “It makes sense. How are the three of us going to stop her and the thousands of creatures that make up her army?”

“We’ll figure something out.” She sounded awfully optimistic. “I’m getting an opportunity to do something I should’ve done years ago. I won’t let my mother down.”

She walked closer to me, her eyes not once moving from mine, and intertwined her fingers with mine. I held her hand up to my face and kissed it lightly. She curtseyed and I bowed. We both laughed, and when we stopped, the tension between us was undeniable. I was still holding her hand, and she was acutely aware of that fact.

She leaned in closer, and I followed. I wrapped my arm around her tiny waist. I could feel her heart beating quickly against my chest. I moved a few strands of hair away from her face, placed my hand on her chin and ran my thumb along her bottom lip. She rested her cold hand on the back of my neck, the other gently touching my face. Her eyes, full of intensity, were staring into mine.

When our lips first met, they simply brushed against each other. It was enough to make me want more. She backed up against the trunk of the tree and I put my hands on her neck, my fingers tracing her collarbone. She pulled my face to hers again and started to kiss me. She ran her fingers through my hair and wrapped her legs around me.

I could smell the same perfume she had been wearing when I first approached her on our world, and electricity began to run through my veins, causing me to kiss her more passionately, and hold her closer.

It was the perfect first kiss… and maybe the perfect last kiss if either of us was killed. If so, I was glad to have shared it with her. My lonely angel.

When I drew back I took a deep breath to inhale her scent once more.

She smiled, her beautiful white wings beating softly.

“We should probably go,” I murmured after a few moments, pressing my forehead to hers. I never wanted to leave.

“You’re right. I’ll take you to where Ivy’s hiding.” She turned away to start walking but I grabbed her hand.

“One more thing before we leave.” I pulled the wooden cross – which was hanging on a piece of string around my neck – over my head and put it over hers.

She looked down and smiled, running her finger over the small indentations. She didn’t ask where it was from, and she didn’t ask why I was giving it to her.

She simply said “Thank you.”

I made it the day I met her. I had intended to give it to her then but couldn’t find the courage. I kept it in the hope that one day I would find her again, but I never expected to see her in this lifetime. On this planet. That’s how I found the courage the second time round. I had been given an unlikely opportunity and I wasn’t going to waste it.

“You’re welcome.”